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Three senate Democrats, Barbara Boxer, Edward Markey and Sheldon Whitehouse are in a standoff with the Koch Brothers currently, who are refusing to discuss their involvement with funding scientific studies studies that always somehow seem to say that climate change isnt real, while the rest of the scientific world agrees that it is one of the biggest long-term problems we face. The goal is simple, said Senator Markey:

Corporate interests shouldnt be able to secretly peddle the best junk science that money can buy.

The senators launched their probe shortly after climate researcher Willie Soon was accused of accepting more than $1.2 million from oil, gas and coal companies in exchange for his research questioning the role of greenhouse gases in climate change.

But, The Kochs think Congress can stick it where the sun dont shine. They say they have 64 billion reasons why it is none of Congress business. And, each one is for every dollar they have.

Mark Holden, the general counsel for the 5th and 6th richest guys in the world had this to say about the Senators inquiry:

Your letter touches on matters that implicate the First Amendment. I am sure you recognize Kochs right to participate in the debate of important public policy issues and its right of free association.

This is not just about participating in public debate, though. Nor is it about even using their massive amounts of money to gain more attention in the free press. What they are doing is deceptive, and intentionally trying to make climate change seem like a hoax, by having so-called independent organizations and scientists claim that the science doesnt support climate change.

Koch, which owns subsidiaries in industries like oil refining, agricultural supply and paper products, was one of 100 companies that Markey, Boxer and Whitehouse are investigating.

The senators are calling for these thinktanks that throw out these studies as evidence, to show who is funding them.

The letter they sent was just a first step asking for the information. The next step will be making them do it.

But, the Koch Brothers are remaining mum, for now. And, theyre betting the republican puppets they put in office are going to bail them out. After all, they are spending $1 billion alone, just for the 2016 Presidential election. This is an insane amount of money to influence elections for just one family.

Watch this short video to see how just how bad it is:

H/T: Next Gen Climate | Featured Image: Koch Brothers

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Its no secret that our planet is in a pretty dire condition. Extinction rates have been estimated to be about 1,000 times higher than they should be, and thats all due to human influenceand interference. With around 20,000 species at risk for extinction and countless others that we havent even discovered yet also dying, scientists are rushing to figure out what we can do about it. Some have suggested the sixth great mass extinction is looming on the horizon, and the problem is a massive one. Its so big that there are things that you do every day that are helping to bring about the end of the world, and chances are that you might not even know it.

10 Using Disposable Chopsticks

Chances are good that you dont even think about environmental impact when you pull a pair of wooden chopsticks out with your order of takeout, but those chopsticks are having a devastating impact on Chinas forests. China produces a whopping 80 billion disposable chopsticks every year. The vast majority are usedand thrown awayin China itself. A mind-blowing number, 80 billion is enough to blanket Beijings Tiananmen Square in at least 360 layers of chopsticks.

That kind of production takes 20 million trees, and not just any trees. Twenty-year-old trees. The impact of that is exactly as bad as youd think. China suffers from a major deforestation problem for no reason other than chopsticks. Its also not helped by the fact that demand for disposable wooden chopsticks is increasing dramatically, up from 57 billion in 2009. Thats resulted in China ranking somewhere around 139th place when it comes to per capita forest coverage with less than a quarter of the worlds average.

The problem has gotten so bad that China is now imposing restrictions on the production of chopsticks, limiting quantities companies can produce and increasing the taxes imposed on purchases. Theyre also starting a big push to introduce the idea of carrying reusable chopsticks in a bid to aid in the recovery of the nations forests. By 2020, they hope to add 40 million hectares of trees, but that can only happen if they can alleviate some of the stress placed on the environment by chopsticks.

9 Birth Control Is Working On Fish, Too

Know anyone whos on the pill? Theyre also spreading pregnancy prevention to marine wildlife, and thats a problem.

In 2014, researchers at the University of New Brunswick released the results of a study that had been going on for several decades. They were looking at wastewater treatment and its impact on freshwater ecosystems, and they found that even trace amounts of estrogen in the environment can wipe out entire species.

In 2001, a small amount of estrogen, one of the active ingredients in birth control pills and hormone therapy treatments, was introduced into a freshwater lake research facility in Ontario. The impact was almost immediate. Male fish first began producing egg proteins and then producing eggs. Even tiny trace amounts were enough to feminize the male fish, which led to a complete crash of the ecosystem. The insect populations normally kept in check by the fish suddenly skyrocketed. As the minnow population plummeted, so did the population of the lake trout that fed on them.

Its not just happening in research facilities, either. Calgarys Red Deer and Oldman rivers have been hit by the same problem. The cause has been traced back to the release of improperly treated wastewater that contains hormones from hormone therapy drugs and birth control pills. Hormones that arent absorbed or used end up in the sewer system after they cycle through the human body. In areas where that sewer water is dumped into lakes and rivers, the average fish population is about 85 percent female, a stark contrast to the normal 55 percent. Fish exposed to the hormones not only lose the ability to reproduce, but their accidental hormone treatment impacts eggs at the development stage as well.

8 Birds On Prozac

Record numbers of people are taking antidepressant drugs like Prozac. While many of them might be concerned primarily about feeling different, they should also be concerned about what theyre doing to the environment.

According to a study from the University of York, the amount of antidepressants (specifically Prozac) that are found in the environment can be potentially devastating to birds. They started by measuring the amount of Prozac that made its way into the earthworms that were feeding on sewage and wastewater. The dose was small, only about 3 to 5 percent of an average human dose. They then fed the Prozac-laced worms to a group of 24 starlings and recorded their behavior for the next six months.

The birds began to show the same side effects to the drug that are reported in humans. They lost interest in food and stopped eating. They also lost interest in starlings of the opposite sex. The two main side effects have dual impacts; their loss of interest in food makes them weaker and less likely to make it through winter months, and their loss of libido has the potential to severely impact breeding numbers.

The birds didnt seem to have any of the good effects of Prozac. Their general mood and disposition remained the same. Just how widespread an impact this could have on the worlds bird populations isnt known, but its thought that it might have something to do with the decline in the starling population over the last few decadesto the tune of about 50 million birds.

7 Using Straws

Chances are good that if you get a cold drink at any restaurant, youll be handed a straw, too. We curse the people working the drive-through when were halfway down the block and realize we dont have one, but straws are having a pretty devastating impact on our planet.

Every day, the United States alone uses about 500 million drinking straws. For a visual, that means we could fill 46,400 school buses with straws every year. In the last 25 years, about six million of those have been picked up on beaches across the country during annual cleanups. Those are just part of the sum that ends up on the beach, and according to the Ocean Conservancy, drinking straws rank in the top 10 types of trash found floating in the ocean.

Straws are light, easily picked up by wind and water currents, and made from a polypropylene plastic that doesnt disintegrate or dissolve. These millions of straws are around forever, making up a huge part of the estimated 12 to 24 tons of plastic that ends up ingested by fish and other marine wildlife every year. And that includes about one million seabirds that die after eating plastics. One of the most common items found in autopsies? The drinking straws that come attached to juice boxes.

6 Eating Frog

Far from exclusively a fancy French entree, frog is such a popular food that it has become a huge global industry. Bullfrogs are typically raised on farms in South America. They are then either used there for food or shipped overseas. Japan and the United States are two of the biggest consumers of frogs, with more than five million imported into the US alone each year. Thats proving fatal for countless amphibiansand not just those being eaten.

Many of the bullfrogs shipped out of South America are infected with chytrid fungus. The fungus is completely harmless to humans. The North American bullfrog is highly resistant to it, making them the ideal carrier for the fungal disease that can infect toads, salamanders, and other types of frogs.

The fungus thats being spread by the live food trade is different than one thats being blamed for most of the recent die-offs. Its thought that the strain is not only being spread, but that its being hybridized into a new, extremely virulent strain. There are a few different strains of the fungus, and researchers from the University of Michigan have been able to track which frogs are carrying which strains into which countries. Theyve also been able to trace which strains of the fungus can reproduce with other strains, leading to more and more different varieties of deadly fungus. The consequences of the fungus and its ability to hybridize create the potential to unleash an epidemic across the globe.

5 Using Antibacterial Soap

Theres been a lot of debate about just how effective antibacterial soaps are and whether or not they should even be marketed, but using them has been proven to have an impact on the environment.

Johns Hopkins University Center for Water and Health has done a study on just what happens to all the antibacterial chemicals in your antibacterial soaps after they swirl down the drain. The most commonly used chemicals are triclocarban and triclosan, and while most of those chemicals are removed from wastewater when theyre run through a treatment plant, they have to go somewhere. That somewhere is sewage sludge, which is then recycled for agricultural use. From there, those chemicals are transferred into the ground and ultimately into surface water.

When triclocarban degrades, it degrades into two chemicalsboth carcinogens. When triclosan is run through a treatment plant to make drinking water, it doesnt exactly make safe drinking water. Instead, it makes other chemicals that can include chloroform. And those chemicals travel through the food chain in plants, animals, and ultimately humans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found traces of the chemicals originating with antibacterial soap in 75 percent of urine samples tested, all taken from people over five years old.

Triclosan has been shown to interfere with the basic biological systems of a number of animals, including rats and a range of amphibians. It interferes with thyroid function, and when it builds up in the body, it causes early puberty in young animals, infertility, obesity, and cancer. Triclosan collects in the bodys fatty tissues, and since animalsand humansare higher up on the food chain, that means were consuming all the trace amounts found in lower animals and getting a massive dose of the stuff.

4 Keeping The Family Cat

If you have an indoor cat, you probably go through a lot of cat litter. Its a pretty new invention, only around since 1947 when a Michigan woman asked Edward Lowe if he knew of an alternative to the sand or ash that she had been using. Lowe, who worked in the industrial absorbents business, gave her some clayand the rest is history.

There is, of course, a big problem with that history. For decades, at least 75 percent of the different brands of cat litter available were made from bentonite clay. The clay is what gives the litter its scoopable quality. Considering America alone uses about 2 million tons of cat litter every year, thats a lot of clay the industry needs.

So how do we get it? Strip mining. Lots and lots of strip mining. While thats bad no matter the angle, some people have had it incredibly bad. In 1989, Canadas Mineral Tenure Act was amended to include one of the key ingredients in cat litterdiatomaceous earth. That meant that suddenly, companies had the right of free entry onto peoples land without a time limit to look for valuable minerals. Landowners in Canada have found their property strip mined for cat litter. Technically, landowners need to be compensated, but that process can take years. The Bepple family was one such victim, finding a plot of land they once used for grazing livestock and farming trees suddenly being strip mined for cat litter.

There are tons of alternatives to clay litter on the market, from recycled paper litter to wood and plant-based litters. Those options arent always widely available, though. In many cases, they can be incredibly costly.

3 Eating Farm-Raised Fish

If theres anything that seems like its an eco-friendly dinner choice, its farm-raised fish. Youre not removing fish from the open ocean, youre not putting other animals in danger, and youre not even adding to emissions given off from fishing boats. But farm-raised fish come with their own set of problems, and theyre definitely not the eco-friendly choice youd think.

Shrimp aquaculture has resulted in the large-scale degradation of coastal areas, the destruction of wetlands, and salinization of freshwater areas and drinking water. Salmon farming relies on the release of fish food and nutrients into the water, which always results in wasted feed and a huge amount of fish droppings in the water. Thats normally not a problem, but when a lot of fish are farmed in a small area, its too much for the ecosystem to handle naturally.

Extra waste products end up sinking to the bottom where they react with the medicines and other nutrients used to keep the fish healthy along with antifoulant agents used to keep nets clean. That means fish farms are a breeding ground for sea lice, which are as disgusting as they sound. More chemicals are used to control the sea lice, which end up killing the other marine life that was supposed to be in the area in the first place.

Theres also the very, very good chance that nonnative species of farmed fish are going to escape. Thats introducing an invasive species to an ecosystem not prepared to handle it, and that means a whole other set of problems. Like many other environmental problems, theres absolutely no easy answer. Environmental agencies are now looking for ways to improve husbandry practices worldwide.

2 Eating Soy

Turning to soy products has long been heralded as the healthier, more eco-friendly, and certainly more cow-friendly alternative to dairy products. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that the environmental impact of soybean production is pretty devastating, too.

Soybeans arent just used in products like milk substitutes. Theyre also being used for non-consumables like soap and candles. And were not the only ones eating soy, either; about 80 percent of the worlds soy production goes into livestock feed.

Theres a huge demand for soy. As it grows in popularity, more space is needed to grow the beans. Since 2008, deforestation in Brazil has been on a steady decrease, a direct result of a ban implemented in order to counteract deforestation. The need for the ban comes on the heels of Greenpeaces numbers, which indicated that about 1.2 million hectares of soy was planted in Brazils rain forest in 2005 alone.

In addition to the usual impacts of things like pesticides and water use, theres a huge human rights issue thats grown up around the development of soy, too. The Brazilian government keeps a list of farms that have been caught using slave labor, and soy farms throughout the Amazon basin have been found guilty of luring people there with work, then seizing their documents and forcing them into slavery. Theres also the rather shady practice of land-grabbing, leading to countless families being kicked off land thats deemed more valuable for farming than for living.

1 Not Finishing Your Dinner

Most of us grew up hearing that wed better clean our plates, but its a bigger problem than our parents probably ever realized. Every year, global food waste amounts to about 1.3 billion tons, and thats such a big number that its impossible to imagine. Its costing us about $750 billion annually, and the environmental waste is just as staggering.

Three times the annual flow of the Volga River is wasted on producing food that gets thrown away, yielding 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases. About 28 percent of our agricultural land is used to produce waste food. Clearing more and more land is putting countless plants and animals at risk.

Meanwhile, about 870 million people are starving.

A lot of the waste comes at the processing levels, but consumer waste is also incredibly high. Fruits and vegetables are often thrown away for being misshapen, not necessarily spoiled. Theres a lot of food thats thrown away at the best-by date regardless of whether the food has spoiled. Many consumers think that the sell-by date and the best-by dates are the same, but thats just not the case.

While plans are in place for reducing waste like packaging food in smaller containers and offering lower prices for less-than-perfect foods, theres still a long, long way to go.

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Why should our solar system’s planets get all the attention? There are things about our own Moon that we either still don’t know or have just learned about, half a century after 12 human beings walked on it.

Other moons may harbor life or contain evidence about incredibly violent events that have changed the very nature of the solar system. A few moons are just plain spectacular, like Charon. What’s Charon, you ask?

10Pluto’s Moon Charon Never Sets Or Rises

Pluto and its biggest moon, Charon, are locked together in a gravity dance where they always face each other. So what? Well, it means that an astronaut on Pluto is either not going to see Charon at all or will see it overhead constantly.

Our Moon is locked to Earth by gravity, too, and that’s why we never see its far side. The difference is that Earth is much bigger than the Moon, so only the Moon is locked. Pluto and Charon are almost the same size, so each is locked to the other. One weird effect of this is that if you’re on the far side of Pluto, you never see Charon. On the near side, it looks about seven times as big as our Moon does and just hangs there in the sky, cycling through its phases in a little over six days.

Speaking of our Moon . . .

9Our Moon Is Only Mostly Dead

Part of the thrill of the Apollo missions was that people were setting foot on an untouched lunar surface that had been cold and dead for three or four billion years. Apollo 15 and 17 did find unusually high heat readings, but that could have been instrument error. Nobody suspected active volcanoes. But it turns out that the dinosaurs, some 70 million years ago—as well as later Earth life like elephants and horses that first appeared 33 million years ago—probably watched glowing lava flows on the Moon. Someday, we might see one, too.

Apollo 15 astronauts photographed irregular rocky patches on the basalt mare plains. Nobody had a clue what they were until better images were available, beginning in 2009. Since then, scientists have realized that these irregular mare patches (IMPs) are surprisingly young volcanoes. So far, 70 IMPs have been found. This discovery means that the Moon’s interior stayed hot much longer than scientists first believed. It might even still be partly molten.

8The Moon Mirrors Life On Earth

There is another light we see on the Moon: that faint glow on the unlit part of a crescent moon. It’s called “earthshine,” because it comes from the light of a full Earth in the Moon’s sky, shining on the moonscape. Scientists have run this earthshine through a spectrometer and found “biosignatures” from our atmosphere and plants. Biosignatures are unique spikes on the spectrum of earthshine that are caused by sunlight reflecting off Earth’s vegetation, oceans, and cloud cover. Yes, NASA spacecraft have confirmed there is life on Earth, and it wasn’t a waste of taxpayer money.

Now that they know what to look for, astronomers can try to find biosignatures in the spectrum of planetshine from distant solar systems. They’re not ready to contact ET just yet, but the discovery that earthshine is a spectral mirror of life is a major step in that direction.

7Venus Can Shed Light On Our Moon’s Origin

Many experts say the Moon formed when an object about the size of Mars whacked it out of the Earth during the solar system’s early days. That’s a good explanation for why the Moon’s chemistry is so much like Earth’s, but it doesn’t satisfy some scientists. At a recent meeting about the origin of the Moon, they kept asking, “What’s Venus made out of?” It’s a good question. Venus and Earth formed close to each other in the big dust cloud that birthed our solar system. They are also about the same size, so why does Earth have a Moon and Venus doesn’t?

No one knows. All of our information about Venus is from either pictures or data collected by orbiting spacecraft. Surface samples, which we don’t have, are the only way to tell if our sister planet is chemically different from Earth and the Moon (in which case, the impact theory about the Moon is probably right). If, instead, Venus also has geochemistry like Earth’s, where did the Moon come from . . . Venus or Earth?

6Irregular Moons Show That Giant Planets May Have Changed Orbits

Astronomers call a moon like ours “regular,” because its orbit is generally circular and doesn’t have a steep angle. There are also some “irregular” moons around the giant planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—with orbits that have weird paths and angles.

Scientists say these irregulars are all about the same size. Each of the giant planets has roughly the same number of them. Computer modeling shows that these irregulars could have been comets that were captured some four billion years ago, if the giant planets had switched orbits back then. According to this theory, the giant planet shuffle also threw lots of comets and other debris at the inner solar system in an event called the Late Heavy Bombardment.

With all that going on, some moons probably ended up with their own little moonlets, right? Well, not for long . . .

5Moons Can Have Moons (Technically)

At least one asteroid has a moon. It shouldn’t. The Sun is so much bigger, so it should easily steal the asteroid’s moon. However, that asteroid is far enough away from the Sun for something called a “Hill sphere” to take effect. A Hill sphere is where gravity from an object (let’s call it Earth) is stronger than gravity from a bigger but more distant object (the Sun). Our Moon orbits Earth instead of the Sun because of Earth’s Hill sphere.

Theoretically, any moon that’s far enough away from its planet can have Hill-space moonlets, but none have ever been found. Maybe we just haven’t seen any yet. However, other forces are at work, like tiny variations in gravity called “tidal forces” that make moonlets either crash or break apart. So maybe there simply aren’t any moonlets left anymore.

4Saturn Has Trojan Moons

Saturn is the only planet in our solar system to have moons hiding in another moon’s orbit. Tethys and Dione aren’t alone as they zip around Saturn. About 60 degrees ahead and behind each one is another, much smaller moon, orbiting Saturn in the same path. That’s right—two orbital paths, with three moons in each path.

This effect has nothing to do with Hill spaces. There are stable Lagrangian points 60 degrees ahead of and behind Tethys and Dione. These points are where gravitational pull inward exactly matches the outward centripetal force on the little Trojan moon that’s going way too fast for its weight class. So what happened to other moons that weren’t in a stable Lagrangian point? They probably escaped or collided with each other, adding material to Saturn’s rings.

3Ganymede Has A ‘Club Sandwich’ Ocean Structure That Could Harbor Life

In the 1990s, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft visited Jupiter and found evidence that an extremely salty ocean, hundreds of kilometers deep, probably sits under the icy surface of Ganymede and a few other Jovian moons. At first, scientists thought that intense cold and high pressure at the bottom of Ganymede’s ocean froze the water there, making it an unlikely place to find life.

According to a new theory, Ganymede’s ocean is actually a “club sandwich” of up to three ice layers, each alternating with water. The bottom layer is very salty water. Extremophiles are more likely to live in water than in ice, and since there could be hydrothermal vents down there, similar to those found on Earth, this new model improves the chances that Ganymede might harbor life.

In 2022, the European Space Agency plans to launch a spacecraft that will study Ganymede and perhaps even land on it.

2Titan Manufactures The Raw Materials For Plastic

As it turns out, George Carlin was wrong: Nature doesn’t need humans to make plastic. Saturn’s biggest moon is already working on it.

Titan is the only moon in the solar system with a significant atmosphere. It’s smoggy there, and the weather is terrible. It rains methane and other hydrocarbons. If scientists are right that this moon’s atmosphere is like the one Earth used to have, things have really improved here at home. When sunlight hits hydrocarbons in Titan’s atmosphere, they crack apart and form other molecules. The process is similar to the chemical cracking we must do to hydrocarbons here on Earth to get raw ingredients for plastic. In fact, it’s so similar that NASA’s Cassini spacecraft found propylene and ethane on Titan. These are exactly what plastics manufacturers use to make polypropylene and polyethylene.

1There May Be Life On Europa

Europa is another one of those icy Jovian moons that probably has a subsurface ocean. It doesn’t look like Ganymede, though. It has orange-brown material covering much of its surface, as well as white ice. NASA labels Europa’s orange-brown stuff “non-ice components,” because no one knows for sure what it is. However, a NASA astrogeologist has used infrared light to compare the orange-brown material with extreme bacteria here on Earth. He says he wasn’t looking for anything in particular and was very surprised to find a close, though not perfect, match.

No, life hasn’t been definitely discovered on Europa. The only way to tell for sure is with samples. Europa is very far away and very dangerous to visit because of radiation from nearby Jupiter. Nonetheless, NASA is considering a Europa Clipper mission, even if it means shutting down a lunar orbiter as well as Opportunity—one of the two Mars rovers.

Because finding extraterrestrial life is that important.

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A meteorite is any object in space that enters another object”s atmosphere and survives to land on the surface. Usually, any meteorite humans find is small-ish rock from our own solar system. It reaches the Earth, makes it through the atmosphere and strikes the surface.

These are of course not to be confused with asteroids, which are substantially bigger than meteorites. That doesn”t mean that all meteorites are tiny though. Here are 7 of the biggest ones to have ever hit Earth. Some of these are pretty scary looking.

1.) The Willamette Meteorite.

This bad boy was discovered by settlers in the American northwest around 1901. It”s a truly massive piece of rock weighing in at around 15.5 tons. Willamette now calls the American Musuem of Natural History home.

2.) Mbosi.

This 16 ton monster is located in Tanzania in Africa. It was officially discovered in 1930, however no impact crater was ever found for it. Scientists suspect it either rolled after impact, or it has been around for long enough to erase any signs of an impact crater.

3.) Greenland”s Agpalilik Meteorite.

The fun fact about Agpalilik is that it”s one of four major pieces of the Cape York meteorite that split up over Greenland. When I say major piece, I really mean 20 ton piece. This thing is massive.

4.) The Bacubirito Meteorite.

Mexico”s biggest meteorite is also the largest single objects to ever hit Earth. Bacubirito weighs in at just around 22 tons, and is one heck of a tourist attraction.

5.) Greenland”s Ahnighito Meteorite.

Ahnighito is largest section of the Cape York Meteorite. With a weight of 31 tons, Ahnighito is the heaviest meteorite ever moved by mankind. Around the turn of the century the meteorite was transported from Greenland and sold to the American Museum of Natural History where it remains to this day.

6.) El Chaco.

El Chaco is massive, and pretty frightening. It”s located in Argentina and weighs about 37 tons.

7.) The Hoba Meteorite.

The Hoba meteorite in Namibia is the largest meteorite ever found. Scientists believe that the 60 ton Hoba landed on Earth about 80,000 years ago. It was discovered in 1920 by a farmer attempting to plow his fields, but found a giant meteorite instead.

Via: Scribol

It”s amazing to me how truly massive some these meteorites are. Just imagine one of those falling in a populated area nowadays, it would be disastrous.

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Recently, doctors were shocked by what killed an HIV-positive man in Colombia. He died of cancer…but the fatal disease technically wasn’t even his.

The cancer actually began inside a tapeworm that was living inside of him. The tumors that spread throughout his body were the parasite’s. This unique case might even be the first known to medicine where a parasite’s cancer killed its host.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the man was diagnosed with having a Hymenolepis nana tapeworm seven years after being diagnosed with HIV.

Because he also had fatigue, fever, and a cough, he was given a CT scan.

The scan showed that his lungs were riddled with tiny tumors that were less than 2 inches in diameter. The numerous tumors were so small, they didn’t even look human.

That’s when they tested the growths — and they contained H. nana DNA.

Tragically, the patient died 72 hours after this strange discovery.

(via iflscience)

Most people never know they have this kind of worm and their immune systems eventually get rid of it. However, since this man had HIV, his immune system was compromised. Thus, the parasitic cells grew wildly, allowing opportunities for cancer-causing mutations to increase.

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The world of medicinal science is better than its ever been, yet even today people are born with defects that mutate their bodies and alienate them from society. Doctors are still working on finding the cause and cure for them, but maybe the first step is just becoming aware of these defects and normalize their victims to your eyes.

Warning: some of these medical conditions are tragic, resulting in graphic images.

1. Elephantiasis: Extreme swelling of the skin that also produces and large, wart-like nodules.

2. Craniopagus Parasiticus: The presence of an extra, parasitic head on one body that shares a brain with the primary one.

3. Progeria Syndrome: This syndrome has similar symptoms to one growing old with ageloss of hair, wrinklesexcept for they occur in young children.

4. Ischiopagi: Also commonly known as “siamese twins”, this condition occurs when two fetuses fuse together and they share the same body.

5. Aarskoge Syndrome: Wide set and “droopy” eyes at an early age. It can also cause a child”s hand to only have a single crease in the palm of the hand.

6. Sirenomelia: Also called “Mermaid Syndrome”, this occurs when two limbs are fused together.

7. Ambras Syndrome: Abnormal growth of hair in regions where hair is not commonly found.

8. Cyclopia: Deformation of the face that can cause children to have one eye or even no facial features at all.

(H/T: weirdlyodd.com)

It”s important to remember that people with these abnormalities didn”t choose them. They just want to be treated as people just like everyone else, and part of the way we can do that is become aware of their situation. So far, there is no cure or fix for these genetic conditions, but in the future there may be medical advances that can prevent these abnormalities.

Give this a share on Facebook and let people know.

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An inflatable airplane may sound like a good idea at first. It may even sound brilliant, so long as whoever is pitching it to you points out how helpful it would be to be able to drop them to soldiers. The soldiers could then grab the lightweight packages, pump them up and fly away to safety.

…never mind the fact these planes could probably pop if a bird in the sky looked at them the wrong way. If you think of it, the idea probably got shot down faster than an inflatable airplane. Some prototypes were made, but they were never used in battle.

The Goodyear Inflatoplane (not inflated).

Almost there.

After being designed and built in less than 12 weeks, the Inflatoplane was tested in Akron, Ohio.

The initial test resulted in a fatality, but the Inflatoplane idea was not abandoned.

In total, 12 were made.

The first Inflatoplane was built in 1956 and the last in 1963.

One has to wonder what took them so long.

Could you imagine yourself sitting in that cockpit?

Me either.

Goodyear donated two of the remaining planes to the Franklin Institute and Smithsonian Museum.

Because with an idea like this one, you have to see it to believe it.

Yikes.

(via Piximus)

Apparently, no one thought about how bullets and balloons generally don”t mix.

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If you look at these photos, you might think they were created on a film set or a computer. They look like a work of fantasy, devoid of magical beings that should rightly be within frame. But that”s not the case. These photos come from right here on Earth. If you ever thought that terrestrial life was dull, check these out and enjoy some newfound appreciation for our little planet”s amazing beauty.

1. Lake Hillier, “The Pink Lake,” Western Australia

This lake on the Recherche Archipelago is famed for its pink color. Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how it gets its color. The popular theory is bacteria. And yes, you can swim in it.

2. Rainbow Mountains, Gansu Province, China

These mountains in the Zhangye Danxia Geological Park feature multicolored striations of sandstone collected over the period of 24 million years. Erosion sculpted the mountains into impressive peaks and spires, and revealed the colors below.

3. Antarctica

The frozen wilds of Antarctica are some of the last places on Earth not crawling with humans, and they make spectacular vistas like this possible.

4. Three Sisters Volcano, Oregon, USA

This volcano in the Cascade Range gets its name from its three joint peaks. The peaks are nicknamed Faith (to the north) Hope (in the middle) and Charity (to the south).

5. Apostle Islands, Wisconsin, USA

The Apostle Islands in Lake Superior are known for their shoreline sea caves (or, in this case, lake caves). The caves are home to dazzling icicle displays in the colder months.

6. Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska, USA

The Mendenhall Glacier, which is about 12 miles long, is sadly shrinking due to climate change.

7. Goafoss, Iceland

Its name means “waterfall of the gods,” and is pronounced “Gothafoss.” It”s 12 meters high and more than 30 meters across.

8. The Devil”s Punchbowl, Central Oregon, USA

These caves are carved out by the sea along central Oregon”s coastline. The bowl shape was formed when two caves collapsed, and the site is known for its deep purple seaweed and white sands.

9. Abraham Lake, Alberta, Canada

This lake is actually artificial, created with the construction of Bighorn Dam. Here, gas bubbles sit frozen in its ice, creating an interesting effect.

10. Valley of Fire, Nevada, USA

This wash of sedimentary stone in the Valley of Fire State Park is a rainbow of pastels. The sandstone formations were created over millions of years from shifting desert sands.

11. Spotted Lake, Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada

This unusual lake gets its spots from various mineral deposits. The spots are visible in summer when much of the lake”s water evaporates. Depending on the type of mineral and the amount of water left over, the spots will be different colors. It was traditionally revered for its healing properties.

12. Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia

This Lake Baikal, with its amazing blue ice. It freezes solid enough in the winter to support pedestrians and snowmobiles. It”s also rich in biodiversity.

This famous rock formation is notoriously tricky to get to, as there”s no trail leading to it. Erosion has worn away the sandstone layers here to reveal the bands of color.

14. Fly Geyser, Nevada, USA

This small geothermal geyser was created by accident in 1964 during well drilling. Oops. Dissolved minerals would be pushed out of the geyser with the constant water release, forming the mound seen today. The water spouts can reach 5 feet.

15. Alentejo Beach, Portugal

This area has one of the richest diversities of flora and fauna in the country.

If these photos don”t make you want to get out and explore the world, we”re not sure what will. I”m ready to pack my bags right now!

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Seeing one of the incredible comets that pass by the Earth is one of the greatest pleasures in life. If we are lucky, we will get to see several comets while we are here on this planet. Some will be barely visible to the naked eye, while others will be objects as bright as Venus or the Moon. It is the latter that we remember most and to which we give the name “Great Comet of (fill in the year).” Here are 10 of the lesser-known comets that, in one way or another, live up to the title of “great.”

10Comet Bennett

Probably the best-remembered comet from the 1970s was the very disappointing Kohoutek, which failed to reach its much-anticipated level of brightness in 1973–1974. However, there were two very good comets to grace the skies in the ’70s—Comet West and the lesser-known Comet Bennett. Though seldom mentioned in the same breath as the fantastic Comet West, Comet Bennett put on a spectacular display from February through May 1970.

Comet Bennett was a bright morning comet visible to anyone willing to brave the cold to see it. And it was worth the trouble, as it brightened to magnitude zero. The astronomical magnitude scale is a measure of how bright an object appears in the night sky, with zero being as bright as the summer star Vega. Objects with a negative number are even brighter and easier to see. For comparison, the brightest planet in the night sky is Venus, at -4 magnitude. Comet Bennett had a long, fantastic tail extending behind it, which was actually two tails twisting together. Though it faded from view by mid-May, it is remembered by some astronomers as one of the most impressive comets of the 20th century. Comet Bennett will be back to see us (or rather, for us to see) in 17,000 years.

9The Headless Comet Of 1887

Viewable for a very short time in the Southern Hemisphere, the Great Southern Comet of 1887 was remarkable for one bizarre reason—it had no nucleus, or “head.” The nucleus is the heart of the comet and is a solid block of ice and other material which is often referred to as a “dirty snowball.” The nucleus creates the coma—the cloud of dust surrounding the nucleus—and that accounts for the dust tail that is “blown” by the solar wind.

How is it possible that the Great Southern Comet of 1887 was so spectacular to see, but did not have a visible coma? Scientists have a few theories as to why the head of the comet may not have shone very brightly, but none of them are entirely conclusive. Whatever the explanation, the lack of a head gave the comet its second name, the “Headless Wonder.” Even though it was not visible for long before it disappeared, it was spectacular to see, with a tail stretching 50 degrees across the night sky.

8Great Comet Of 1861

In 1910, the world eagerly awaited the return of Comet Halley. By that point, scientists had been able to study the chemical composition of the tail of dust from Halley’s comet and had determined that it contained, among many other chemicals and elements, cyanide gas. Though the amount of cyanide gas was very low, the press spread fears that on May 19, 1910, when the Earth passed through the comet’s tail, the deadly gas would kill all life on Earth. Of course, the night came and went, the Earth passed through the tail of the comet, and the next morning the planet was still full of life.

Forty-nine years earlier, the Earth had another very close encounter with a comet—the Great Comet of 1861, also called Comet Tebbutt after the man who discovered it—farmer and astronomer John Tebbutt. On May 13, 1861, he spotted a fuzzy object in the night sky above the little town of Windsor, near Sydney, Australia. Not recognizing any such nebula or star cluster in that area of the sky, he sent a letter to the Government Astronomer at Sydney University, who verified that Tebbutt had done what few humans ever achieve—find (and be named for) a comet. Tebbutt’s discovery was published in the Sydney paper, and word of the new comet started to spread around the scientific world.

As it slowly moved into the Northern Hemisphere, Comet Tebbutt was visible for most of the summer of 1861. It steadily grew in brightness, eventually reaching magnitude zero, and on June 29th, the Earth passed right through the tail of the comet. It brightened to magnitude -4 (as bright as Venus), with a tail that stretched 120 degrees across the sky. To give you a rough idea of how amazing that is, remember that 90 degrees from the horizontal (the horizon) is the point directly overhead (the zenith). If the head of Comet Tebbutt had been at the horizon, its tail would have arced across the sky well past the zenith. Just as it would in 1910, the Earth survived its close encounter with the tail of the Great Comet of 1861.

7Comet Arend-Roland

Photo credit: Cambridge Institute of Astronomy

Discovered in 1956, Comet Arend-Roland was the first great comet visible in the Northern Hemisphere since the 1910 appearance of Halley’s Comet, and today it’s thought of as the first great comet of the modern era. In April 1957, the comet passed closest to Earth and brightened into an amazing celestial object with a magnitude of zero and a tail stretching 30 degrees. It then showed a rare site: a bright anti-tail—a tail pointed toward the sun.

In his book Cosmos, astronomer Carl Sagan recollected one of the great stories of Comet Arend-Roland. Sagan was a graduate student attending the University of Chicago when Comet Arend-Roland was visible. He received a phone call one evening from an inebriated man who wanted to speak to a “shtrominer” about why there was a fuzzy ball of light in the sky above his outdoor party. Why did the ball of light disappear when you looked at it, then reappear when you averted your gaze? Sagan explained to the man that he was seeing Comet Arend-Roland. The man asked Sagan, “what’s a comet,” to which Sagan replied, “a snowball one mile across.” Not about to believe such nonsense, the man then asked Sagan if he could speak to “a real shtrominer.”

6Comet Encke

Comet Encke makes this list for several significant reasons. First, it is the periodic comet with the shortest known orbit around the Sun, only three years. Comet Encke is just one of many periodic comets, most with orbits that will bring the comet past Earth several times during an average human life span. Periodic comets are interlopers from the Oort cloud and Kuiper belt, an area filled with comets and asteroids which lies past the orbit of Neptune. From there, the periodic comets make frequent visits to Earth as they orbit the Sun. Because it comes back to visit our planet on a regular basis, Comet Encke is sometimes referred to as “old faithful.”

But sometimes, the comet is not so friendly to Earth. Some scientists believe that Comet Encke is related to many historical Earth impacts, including the 1908 Tunguska explosion. Some scientists even believe that Comet Encke may be the source of inspiration for the swastika. A rare Chinese comet atlas from the fourth century B.C. was discovered in 1978, and among the many drawings of comets was one with a very recognizable swastika shape.

Had the ancient Chinese observed Comet Encke in 2007, they would have been amazed to find that it had no tail at all—it had “fallen off” after a close encounter with the Sun. Comet Encke is also responsible for the annual Taurid meteor shower in early November, when the Earth passes through the remnants of dust left behind by the comet’s tail.

5Comet Swift-Tuttle

Photo credit: ESO/S. Guisard

You may not have heard of Comet Swift-Tuttle, but astronomers and scientists have, and they worry a great deal about this comet. And for good reason—Comet Swift-Tuttle has been called “the single most dangerous object known to humanity.”

Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest of the periodic comets, those that make regular and relatively short-term visits to our Sun and Earth. It’s an old acquaintance of man. Scientists believe that there have been recorded sightings of its regular 120-year orbit for thousands of years. The last time it was back to see us was in 1992, not 1982 like astronomers expected. We now know its true orbital period, which leads to the problem: The next time Comet Swift-Tuttle is due to return is 2126, not 2116—putting it much closer to the Earth’s orbit. For a time, scientists were actually worried that it might impact the Earth.

The comet’s large nucleus is what gives scientists concern. At over 26 kilometers (16.2 mi) in diameter, Comet Swift-Tuttle rivals the size of previous comets that have hit the Earth—impacts that have destroyed almost all life on the planet. Even though we now know the comet will miss us in 2126, it will be close enough to Earth to provide those lucky enough to see it with a spectacular show in the night sky. And we are still keeping a close eye on the comet, just in case it decides to change its mind between now and 2126.

On a more pleasant note, because it comes back to visit Earth on a routine basis, the Earth regularly passes through remnants of its tail. The dust left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle creates one of the best and most reliable astronomical events each year—the Perseid meteor shower.

4The Great Comet Of 1811

Also called Comet Flaugergues, this comet was first seen in April 1811. The comet was visible with either the naked eye or a telescope for an amazing 17 months, spanning well into 1812. At its brightest, Comet Flaugergues was magnitude 1 and had a tail stretching 25 degrees.

While the Great Comet of 1811 was called Comet Flaugergues, it is best remembered as either “Tecumseh’s Comet” in the United States or “Napoleon’s Comet” in Europe. In 1811, people were beginning to look at comets and other astronomical events with less fear and superstition. However, Comet Flaugergues worked hard to overcome that progress by coinciding with the greatest onset of earthquakes in US history—the New Madrid earthquakes, a series of thousands of quakes that spanned from December 1811 to March 1812. Two of the earthquakes exceeded 8.0 on the Richter scale.

At that time, the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh (his name just happened to mean “Shooting Star”) was bringing together various tribes in a confederacy to fight back against the United States for seizing Native American land. As Tecumseh was meeting with other tribal leaders just 80 kilometers (50 mi) from the epicenter, the first quake (magnitude 8.1) hit the New Madrid, Missouri area.

As for Napoleon, he apparently embraced the comet as a sure sign of the justness of his reign, but it came in the years when he would embark on his worst military decision, the invasion of Russia. In fact, a total of three comets spanned the time between Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and his retreat.

3The Comet Of 1472

In 1472, Leonardo da Vinci was at the height of his profession and Columbus was still 20 years away from discovering the New World. The year also marked the appearance of one of the great comets of the tail end of the Middle Ages.

Scientific observations of comets were in their infancy in 1472 when the comet appeared. Scientists of the day tried to determine its distance from Earth, the size, length, and direction of the comet’s tail, and the size of its nucleus. Their measurements and calculations left much to be desired, but still, this was cutting-edge science for the time. After all, the telescope would not appear for more than another 100 years.

One of the early astronomers who studied the comet of 1472 was a German mathematician named Johannes Regiomontanus. Not only did he study the comet, he also wrote down what he observed. The comet had come along at just the right time for Regiomontanus. The printing revolution was just taking off all over Europe, and Regiomontanus’s notes became De Cometis, one of the first astronomy books ever published.

Regiomontanus wasn’t the only one watching the comet. An Italian philosopher and physician named Angelo Cato de Supino claimed that the comet was as bright as the full Moon and had a tail over 30 degrees long. The comet was also being studied by the Koreans and the Chinese. The Chinese described it as a “broom star” and recorded that it “even appeared at midday.” The comet would be visible for 59 days and would ultimately reach -3 magnitude in brightness.

2Great Comet Of 1618

Almost 150 years after the appearance of the Great Comet of 1472, Europe was enthralled with everything that could be observed, studied, recorded, and analyzed. But not everyone was getting with the times. In Prague, Protestants were tossing Catholic noblemen out of windows and triggering the Thirty Years’ War. But while all this was happening, Johannes Kepler was discovering the third law of planetary motion. Nobody paid much attention to what Kepler was up to, including the Catholic Church (fortunately for Kepler). But everyone noticed the comet that graced the sky in 1618.

Known as “the Angry Star” because of its reddish color and very long, menacing tail, the Great Comet of 1618 was visible for seven weeks, which was plenty of time for 17th-century Europeans to get excited about this visitor from beyond. One person who certainly got excited about the comet was Galileo, who saw this as a perfect time to refute Aristotle’s claim that comets were “fiery objects.” He claimed that comets were not like planets with regular circular orbits (wrong), and that comets were not even real objects—they were just appearances (wrong and wrong again). Even Galileo wasn’t right all the time.

But what really caught everyone’s attention was that in England, King James I had taken notice of the comet, and he even penned a poem about it. In his own kingly manner of prose, his Majesty told his subjects to calm down, because it was only a comet. Even if God Almighty sent the comet, he reasoned, your typical Englishmen shouldn’t make too much of it, and should “keep his rash imaginations till he sleep.”

1Comet Donati

Comet Donati has two major distinctions that make it stand out in history. First, it is also known as “Lincoln’s Comet” because it was seen by the soon-to-be US president. When Lincoln observed Comet Donati in 1858, he was just a young Senate candidate from Illinois. Lincoln was said to have “greatly admired this visitor” and spent a considerable amount of time watching the comet in the night sky. Second, and of even more historical significance, Comet Donati has the distinction of being the first comet ever photographed.

In 1839, photography was invented by Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, and astronomers quickly realized the potential applications of photography to their science. It didn’t take astronomers long to start snapping pictures of everything in the sky. The first successful daguerreotype of the Moon was made in 1840. By 1858, when Comet Donati became visible, the daguerreotype process was being improved with the wet collodion method. George Bond, an astronomer at Harvard, used a telescope and the collodion photography method to record the first-ever image of a comet. It wasn’t much to look at, but there it was. History had been made.

Besides these two historically important distinctions, Comet Donati was also a spectacular comet to observe. The night sky of the 1800s was not yet obscured by the modern curse of light pollution. People around the world, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, were in awe of the many spectacular comets that came along in the 1800s. It must have been marvelous to observe so many great comets in such a short period of time, under such perfect, dark skies.

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For many decades environmentalists have been up in arms about the deforestation measures occurring in the rainforests of the world, particularly the Amazon rainforest. According to biological researchers, the loss of rainforest flora is especially lamentable, since only one percent of rainforest plants have been scientifically studied for their medicinal properties. The following botanical examples, however, are known and used for their libido-enhancing properties. Many are available and regarded as safe, but research and proper healthcare guidance is always recommended before ingesting. The following Amazonian plants have been prescribed by native shaman and folk healers of South America, and may truly contain properties that enhance love.

10
Yohimbe

Yohimbine is an alkaloid with stimulant and aphrodisiac effects, found naturally in Pausinystalia yohimbe. It is also found naturally in Rauwolfia serpentina (Indian Snakeroot), along with several other active alkaloids. Yohimbine has been used as both an over-the-counter dietary supplement in herbal extract form, and prescription medicine in pure form for the treatment of sexual dysfunction, making it a significant enhancer to millions of love lives around the world! And humans aren’t the only animals to benefit from this wonder-drug. Yohimbine has been shown to be effective in the reversal of sexual satiety and exhaustion in male rats. It has also been shown to increase the volume of ejaculated semen in dogs, with the effect lasting at least five hours after administration, and has been shown to be effective in the treatment of orgasmic dysfunction in men.

9
Damiana

Damiana is a relatively small shrub that produces small, aromatic flowers. It blossoms in early to late summer and is followed by fruits that taste similar to figs. The shrub is said to have a strong spice-like odor somewhat like chamomile, due to an oil present in the plant. The leaves have traditionally been made into a tea, and an incense which was used by native people of Central and South America for its relaxing effects. Spanish missionaries first recorded that the Mexican Indians drank Damiana tea mixed with sugar for use as an aphrodisiac. Damiana has long been claimed to have a stimulating effect on libido, and its use as an aphrodisiac has continued into modern times. More recently, some corroborating scientific evidence in support of its long history of use has also emerged. Several studies utilizing animal testing have shown evidence of increased sexual activity in sexually exhausted or impotent male rats when exposed to damiana, as well as generally increased sexual activity in rats of both sexes.

8
Huanarpo Macho

Studded with reddish-orange blossoms, huanarpo macho, known scientifically as Jatropha macrantha or Jatropha aphrodisiaca, is a medium-sized shrub-like tree that grows profusely in the Amazonian Maranon River Valley. Associated with the male libido, huanarpo macho is believed to have the power to stimulate sexual function. Popular in Brazil, the plant is also known in Peru as Peruvian Viagra, and it is typically prescribed by folk medicine practitioners for erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. The plant’s medicinal properties appear to lie in the young branch stems. Other medicinal properties contained by huanarpo macho include increased energy, support of renal function and the ability to calm nerves.

7
Passionflower

The sex-enhancing powers of passionflower, known scientifically as Passiflora incarnata, lie in its vine, leaves and stem—not just in its name! Passionflower seems to have many healthful benefits; it is known to relieve depression, decrease pain and even kill germs. This woody vine is thought to enhance the libido, even while producing a calming effect. Amazonians refer to the plant as maracuja, but it is also indigenous to many South American regions outside of the Amazon. Moreover, a 2003 study of the plant appears to confirm its sexual enhancement properties—at least in mice; these lucky rodents enjoyed increased sperm counts and improved sexual function after ingesting leaf extract from passionflower. The flowers themselves have traditionally been regarded as seductive, and are noted for their exotic beauty.

6
Cashews

Cashews are a favorite nut around the world, though, botanically speaking, they are actually the fruit of the cajeiro, or cashew tree. Scientifically called Anacardium occidentale, the tree is medicinally useful through its leaves, bark and fruit or nut. The nut grows at the end of a sweet and pulpy peduncle. Cashews need to be boiled or roasted in order to remove the toxic residue. The cashew fruit is a popular Brazilian aphrodisiac that is said to stimulate the libido. While the nut of the fruit is popular in North America, the pulpy substance, which is renowned in South America, is not imported fresh as it is extremely perishable. Frozen cashew fruit concentrate is a happy alternative. The useful parts of the cashew tree have also been used to dry secretions, reduce fever and lower blood pressure.

5
Guarana

Indigenous to the Amazon rainforest, guarana is scientifically known as Paullinia cupana. This creeping shrub produces red clusters of fruit. The fruit has long been important to Indian folklore because of the appearance of black “eyes” that emerge when the fruit ripens. This effect is actually produced when the ripened fruit splits and the black seeds become visible. Both the seeds and the fruit are used medicinally in native folk medicine. Aside from its ability to stimulate the libido, guarana is said to calm nerves, stimulate energy, reduce pain and even reduce weight. Many Brazilians add guarana to their health tonics to slow aging, cure headaches and reduce fatigue. The cultivation of guarana is, today, benefiting many indigenous Amazonian tribes.

4
Tamamuri

Growing as tall as twenty-five meters into the Amazonian canopy, the tamamuri tree is scientifically called Brosimum acutifolium. Its healing properties appear to be contained in the bark. A member of the mulberry family, the tamamuri tree is well-known in the Peruvian Amazon; Indian tribes there believe that ingesting the white latex that emerges from the punctured bark of the trunk will enable a man to father a male child. While this has not been confirmed by modern medicine, the bark is widely used by rainforest peoples to relieve pain; kill bacteria, fungi and yeast; sooth arthritis, and possibly even kill cancer cells. And, although the bark has been associated with witchcraft, it is widely used by native practitioners to treat syphilis. As an aphrodisiac, the bark is taken in tonic form to stimulate sexual function.

3
Catuaba

The root and bark of Erythroxylum catuaba, usually referred to as catuaba, has been an important aphrodisiac for Brazil’s Tupi Indians for centuries. Regarded as the most popular aphrodisiac of contemporary Brazil, this small tree, with its orange and yellow blossoms, is native to the Amazon as well as other areas of northern Brazil. A decoction made from the tree’s bark is said to be an aphrodisiacal wonder when it comes to treating impotency. It is also said to increase sexual stamina. Throughout the country, catuaba is said to induce reliable results with no ill effects. It is also prescribed by folk practitioners to treat insomnia, memory loss and anxiety.

2
Rosewood Oil

Rosewood oil from the rosewood tree, known scientifically as Aniba canelilla, is highly regarded in northern South American countries as an aphrodisiac for women. Native to the Amazon, the rosewood’s oil is believed to reduce ‘frigidity’ in women. The spiced floral scent of the oil is prized, although felling rosewood trees is a particularly controversial act for its damage to the rainforest environment. Rosewood oil is also believed to diminish acne, reduce fevers and cure headaches. The tree’s bark and fruit are also used for other folk remedies.

1
Picho Huayo

Siparuna guianensis, more commonly known as picho huayo, is a common tree of the Amazon rainforest that is also known to grow in the Andes’s cloud forests. The leaves and fruit are the medicinally viable parts of the tree. The evocative lemony fragrance of the leaves and fruit are immensely popular when crushed into love potions. Men use the potion as an all-over body rub, which is believed to make them sexually irresistible. In some parts of the rainforest, the leaves are used in teas and ingested to treat high blood pressure and ease cold symptoms. The rainforest’s Kubeo Indians use the leaves to treat snakebites. The leaves of picho huayo also contain fever-reducing properties. However, it’s the tree’s intoxicating scent that makes it a wildly popular aphrodisiac.

Many of these plants have been understood by native tribes for centuries. Their love-enhancing properties are not contested by the people who have benefited from their properties for years. The rainforest has many gifts to offer the world, but these plants are quite literally gifts of love.

Jamie Frater

Jamie is the founder of Listverse. He spends his time working on the site, doing research for new lists, and cooking. He is fascinated with all things morbid and bizarre.